The gift that keeps on giving

This is a rather splendid idea for a birthday gift - ask your friends to recommend a couple of books or so each. In no time, you'll end up with a reading list long enough to keep you going for years, (unless you have an unreasonable amount of time on your hands). My friend Fiona had the idea and here's the impressively long and eclectic list which resulted. Recession-proof for the giver, who shares a little time, some thought and a few memories rather than money.